Always With Us
by E. J. Noel
Summary: "I sometimes feel as if he's right by my side," George said and when Hermione turned her head to look at the Weasley, she bit back her own tears. They had cried enough and if she started now, it would be difficult to stop. "He is always with you. With your siblings too, and with me," her words were soft, but Hermione knew they had to speak of the issue openly. - Oneshot


Yesterday I saw some pictures of the twins and I got this idea. So here is a small tribute to Fred Weasley.

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...

The evening was nearly over and Hermione smiled softly as Ginny and Harry said goodbye to the last of their guests. Ron was talking with his oldest brother and the scene made her look around.

It was not unusual for him to leave the areas with people, but a worry inside her made her walk through the house, her unfinished tea in hand.  
Hermione found him out on the back porch, sitting on the steps that led down to the small garden.

The night was completely silent and the sky was alive with lights. Without saying anything, she sat down a little away from him and put her teacup down.

"Do you think he can see us?" The question was spoken softly and in a tone that did not seem possible for the man at her side.  
Hermione tilted her head back and looked at the vast ocean of stars before replying. "I think they all can. Remus, Tonks, Dumbledore and even Snape," her mentioning their old potions professor made George smile a little.

"The git managed to do play us all for fools. But he should not have lost his life. None of them should," he said and his shoulders moved as he leaned forward slightly to support his head against the railing.

"I sometimes feel as if he's right by my side," George said and when Hermione turned her head to look at the Weasley, she bit back her own tears. They had cried enough and if she started now, it would be difficult to stop.

"He is always with you. With your siblings too and with me," her words were soft, but Hermione knew they had to speak of the issue openly. To make sure he knew he could be honest with her, she placed a hand in his shoulder and squeezed it for a second.

"Our own mother sometimes had trouble telling us apart and yet you always did it like it was the easiest thing in the world," he had yet to look at her, but they both knew the words hurt her even if they had not meant to.

"I think it was the reason he noticed you. It was because you saw him first. Not as a Weasley, not as a twin, but as Fred," George finally mentioned his name and that alone made her take in a shuddering breath. Even with the few years that had passed, things were not back to normal and they never would be.

"I know," Hermione said and removed her hand from his shoulder, letting it fall limply at her side by her tea.

"Had he told me back then, I'm not sure what would have happened," she knew honesty was the only way to clear the air and when George let out a sad chuckle, she knew they were moving in the right direction.

"He was pissing his pants when he tried to ask you to the Yule ball, only to get there as Krum was asking you," she had already heard this before from Ron, but seeing how George looked now made it even more heart-breaking.

After the fight Ron had been in with George, he had told her what they had fought about. George was angry that they were getting married so quickly after the war. At first, Hermione had found it a little sad that he could not be happy for them, but then Ron had told her the full story.

"I would have said yes if Victor had not asked first," she said with a small smile and now George finally turned his head to look at her. "Krum was a nice bloke in the end, sad you ended up with Ron," the teasing tone was obvious, but with the somber mood surrounding them in an airtight bubble, it was hard to smile.

"It's for the best. He saw how much you started to care for Ron and knew it would be foolish to get between you," it was hard for both of them to talk about the deceased man they had both cared for, but Hermione moved a little closer on the porch and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Ron almost managed to do that all on his own," she remarked and this time, he gave her a real laugh.

"You would never have loved him like you do Ron," he said and Hermione knew it was true. The idea had never even crossed her mind and with everything she had been through, she knew he did not blame her.

"True, but I did love him," her words created a small silence between them and the cool evening air helped loosen the mood surrounding them.

George was looking up at the stars again when he broke the silence, "He would be happy for you. Even if he was here, he would be happy because you were," the words were like a thousand small needles being pushed into her skin, but Hermione still managed to keep her tears inside.

"He would be happy for you too. You already know what he would say if could speak to you," and they had tried to remind George of this before, but he had never smiled like he did now.

"He'd say 'get off you arse you miserable old sod and go home to your wife'" he tried to change his voice a bit when he spoke, but it had broken in the middle and it did not sound funny like it had meant to.

"She'll come and get you if you don't," Hermione said and George nodded. She pushed herself up into a standing position at the same time as him and even though she stood on the step above George, he could still look down on her.

He gave her a smile, one she had not known she had missed, "you're the best sister-in-law I could ask for. Fleur's got nothing on you," he patted her on top of her head and gave a small grin, one that nearly made his eyes sparkle like they had once done.

Before Hermione could say anything, George surprised her by moving his hand from her hair to lay right above her heart, "but I'm glad he's in here too," and she could not help it, the heavy feeling in her eyes got the better of her and Hermione allowed a tear to fall. "As I said, he'll always be with us."

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Fin.


End file.
